Chowdhury Fazlul Bari | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance |  Bangladesh |
| Service |  Bangladesh Army |
| Years of service | 1976-2008 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General  |
| Unit | East Bengal Regiment |
| Commands |
|
| Police career | |
| Unit | Rapid Action Battalion |
| Allegiance | Bangladesh |
| Branch |  Bangladesh Police |
| Service years | 2004–2006 |
| Rank |  Additional Director |
Chowdhury Fazlul Bari is a former Bangladesh Army officer and former director general of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence. [1]
Bari joined the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in 2004 when it was founded. [1] As a lieutenant colonel he served as the additional director general of RAB. [2] The last post he held in RAB was additional director general. [1] In 2005 he defended Rapid Action Battalions practice of extrajudicial killing of suspects to the US embassy. [3] He was made director of DGFI by the then BNP lead government. [1] During military backed caretaker government headed by Fakhruddin Ahmed, he became the chief of DGFI. [1] However, at the end of the caretaker government he was posted to Bangladesh's diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C. [1]
Tarique Rahman, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, accused him of leading his torture. [4] He was recalled from his post after the elected Awami League government took power. [1] He sought an extension but the government did not grant it and later Bangladesh Army declared him absconding without leave (AWL) officer. [1]
In 2009 Bari declared a deserter. [5] During the caretaker administration he tried to aid Bangladesh Freedom Party and National Democratic Alliance. The freedom party was formed by the military officers who killed Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh in a coup. He married Mehnaz Rashid, the eldest daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Khandaker Abdur Rashid, one the killers of Sheikh Mujib and a leader of the Freedom Party. He divorced her in December 2008. He denied marrying her. [6] In 2009 he applied for political asylum in the United States. [7]
Bangladesh has undergone several changes of government since the Proclamation of Independence in 1971. Between the first recorded coup in August 1975 and the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt, Bangladesh has been through as many as 29 military coups.
Rapid Action Battalion is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Border Guard, and the Bangladesh Ansar. It was formed on 26 March 2004 as RAT, and commenced operations on 14 April 2004.
The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, commonly known by its acronym DGFI, is the defense intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tasked with collection, collation and evaluation of strategic and topographic information, primarily through human intelligence (HUMINT). As one of the principal members of the Bangladesh intelligence community, the DGFI reports to the Director-General under the executive authority of the head of government, the Prime Minister, and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the Prime Minister, the Cabinet of Bangladesh, and the Armed Forces of Bangladesh.
Sayed Farooq-ur-Rahman was the chief organizer involved in toppling the Sheikh Mujib regime in Bangladesh. He was convicted and hanged on 28 January 2010 along with co-conspirators Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed, Mohiuddin Ahmed, and Mohammad Bazlul Huda in Dhaka Central Jail, Old Dhaka, for the murder of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, one of the founding leader and the first president of Bangladesh. Sayed Farooq-ur-Rahman and his close ally Khandaker Abdur Rashid were the chief organisers of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975. He was 2IC of the 1st Bengal Lancers Regiment of the Bangladesh Army who led a group of junior army officers in order to overthrow the regime of Sheikh Mujib and install Khondaker Mushtaque Ahmed as president of Bangladesh.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his residence as part of a coup d'état. The Minister of Commerce, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, immediately took control and proclaimed himself head of an interim government from 15 August to 6 November 1975; he was in turn succeeded by Chief Justice Abu Sayem. The assassination marked the first direct military intervention in Bangladesh's civilian administration. Lawrence Lifschultz characterized this incident as an outcome of the Cold War between the United States-influenced Pakistan and the Soviet Union-influenced India. 15 August was annually observed as National Mourning Day under Sheikh Hasina regime.
The Daily Star is a Bangladeshi English-language daily newspaper. It is by far the largest circulating English-language newspaper in the country. Founded by Syed Mohammed Ali on 14 January 1991, as Bangladesh transitioned and restored parliamentary democracy, the newspaper became popular for its outspoken coverage of politics, corruption, and foreign policy. It is considered a newspaper of record for Bangladesh. The newspaper has been described as having a "reputation for journalistic integrity and liberal and progressive views - a kind of Bangladeshi New York Times".
Jail Killing Day is observed by the Awami League (AL) of Bangladesh and many other political organisations on 3 November every year. It commemorates the killing of four Awami League and national leaders: former vice-president Syed Nazrul Islam, former prime minister Tajuddin Ahmed and Captain (Rtd.) Mansur Ali, and former home minister A H M Quamruzzaman on this date in 1975.
Mahfuz Anam is a leading Bangladeshi journalist and public intellectual. He is the editor and publisher of The Daily Star, which is the largest English newspaper in the country. Anam is one of the most influential journalists in Bangladesh. He was elected chairman of the Asia News Network in 2007, 2022 and 2023. He is also the founder of the Newspapers Owners Association of Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Freedom Party, also known as Freedom Party is a political party founded by Sayed Farooq-ur-Rahman, Khandakar Abdur Rashid and Bazlul Huda who were the chief organisers of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975.
Extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in Bangladesh refer to extrajudicial executions carried out by law enforcement agencies without due legal process and to abduction cases in which the government directly or indirectly kidnaps people and holds them incommunicado. From 2009 to 2023, at least 2,699 people were victims of extrajudicial killings in the 200-million Bangladesh. During the period, 677 people were forcibly disappeared, and 1,048 people died in custody. From 2004 to 2006, at least 991 people were killed extrajudicially by "death squad" the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The practice of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances primarily involves law enforcement agencies such as the RAB and the Detective Branch (DB) of the police.
Gulzar Uddin Ahmed, also known as Colonel Gulzar Ahmed, was the founding director of the intelligence wing and also served Additional Director General of Rapid Action Battalion. Until his death, he was a Colonel of the Bangladesh Army and also Sector Commander and Deputy Director General of Bangladesh Rifles.
Mohammad Akbar Hossain is a retired lieutenant general in the Bangladesh Army and former commandant of National Defence College.
Khandaker Abdur Rashid was a officer of the Bangladesh Army and a key organizer of the 15th August 1975 Coup d'état.
Sadik Hasan Rumi is a former Major General of Bangladesh Army who served as Director General of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) from May 2006 to May 2007.
Syed Fatemi Ahmed Rumi is a retired major general of the Bangladesh Army and former director general of Special Security Force.
The military coup in Bangladesh on August 15 of 1975 was launched by mid-ranking army officers in order to assassinate founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose administration post-independence grew corrupt and reportedly authoritarian until he established a one-party state-based government led by the socialist party Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League. Mujib, along with his resident family members, were killed during the coup but was survived by his two then-expat daughters, one of them being future prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The officers were led by Capt. Abdul Majed, Major Sayed Farooq-ur-Rahman, Major Khandaker Abdur Rashidand Major Shariful Haque Dalim.
Mujibur Rahman is a former Bangladeshi military officer who was the longest serving director general of the Special Security Force. Prior to his dismissal on 11 September 2024, he served as general officer commanding of Army Training and Doctrine Command. Before that, he was Quartermaster general at Army Headquarters. He came to the limelight in 2016, as the Operational Commander who carried out Operation Thunderbolt during the Holey Artisan Attack.
Abdul Majed was a Bangladeshi military officer who was convicted for his role in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh.
Golam Mohammad was a Major General of Bangladesh Army and former Director General of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence. He is the former the Director General of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies.
Md. Harun Ar Rashid is a Bangladeshi retired police officer who served as director general of the Rapid Action Battalion for a brief period. He was previously additional inspector general (HRM) of the Police Headquarters.